Re:
Your Truck: In Your Name Or Company Name?

all I can say is, what IFF you were in bad accident while working using your vehicle and only had personal insurance, which then turns around and refuses to pay the claim. Most personal auto policies I've looked at have an exclusion page which lists 'commercial use' (look at the cover page, it should list a number of 'exclusions' by number). What could that do to your family life :-(

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Re:
Your Truck: In Your Name Or Company Name?

I bought a 2007 chevy 2500 new and registered it under my company. I couldn't even get personal insurance for it with it registered to the comapny. I had to get a commercial policy (a lot more $). My CPA is a friend of mine and he said that it is better to have it in the company's name for tax reasons. You can write off everything for it then. Otherwise, you can only write off the mileage or take a vehicle allowance out of the comapany every month. And unless you are driving 30,000 miles a year the mileage write off isn't worth as much as if the company owned it.

Re:
Your Truck: In Your Name Or Company Name?

I own business vehicle, LLC leases it from me. LLC carries Insurance. Log to separate miles driven, as per IRS.

If titled under LLC, could lose it in court, not if personal titled, and entities are kept separate. Vehicle lease per year is 100% deductible, over 5 year depreciation deductible with IRS, if business owned. Also lease garage, home office (1/10 utilities, mortgage, Insurance, improvements, etc.) Be safe, GBAR

Re:
Your Truck: In Your Name Or Company Name?

I have a ute for an everyday driver and truck when needed, both registered and insured as business vehicles which means i can take advantage of obvious tax benefits. If you opt for personal and your driving your truck going to a job and material comes off the back and takes out a car your insurance company can refuse to pay. Their rationale is that you should have business not personal insurance coverage.

Re:
Your Truck: In Your Name Or Company Name?

My van is owned by me, but insired by the business. Not because os any advantages, but I bought the van before I had a business, and never changed it. I will agree that you need to have good insurance.

Re:
Your Truck: In Your Name Or Company Name?

Quote:

Originally Posted by GBAR

I own business vehicle, LLC leases it from me. LLC carries Insurance. Log to separate miles driven, as per IRS.

If titled under LLC, could lose it in court, not if personal titled, and entities are kept separate. Vehicle lease per year is 100% deductible, over 5 year depreciation deductible with IRS, if business owned. Also lease garage, home office (1/10 utilities, mortgage, Insurance, improvements, etc.) Be safe, GBAR

yup. we own the truck and lease it to the corp. business gets to right off ins, lic, gas ect and we get to depr the truck.

i was told no matter who drives the truck, myself, employee, ect. the driver can be sued along with my business if they are in a accident.

Re:
Your Truck: In Your Name Or Company Name?

It doesn't matter if the vehicle is registered to a company name or to a personal name; what is important is to make sure it is rated correctly:

- "Commercial" rating if you are using it to go to jobsites, pick up and deliver materials & tools etc. You will probably see Class 35, 36, 44, or something close to those numbers on your policy.

- "Personal" rating if it is used to drive to the office only, parked all day in the parking lot, and then driven home again at night. Class 02, 03. No driving to work (100% personal use) is Class 01. There is also a "Business" rate, Class 07, if you don't carry materials but drive around during the day to different offices/customers. To complicate things, if you have drivers under the age of 25, there are different Class rating codes.

(These class codes are pretty much universal throughout Canada and the USA with the majority of insurers. Small mutual companies might have their own rating system.)

If there is mixed use, then let your broker know - example: 75% for work and 25% for personal; or, example: mostly for work but on Friday nights I let my son use it to go to the movies with his friends. Depending on the percentage and the insurer they place you with, the rates used may be either commercial or personal (and a surcharge or discount may be applied to balance out the mixed use).

A lot of the commercial auto fleet policies that I handle have a spouse's personal use vehicle on there, and sometimes also the vehicles of the sons/daughters. The choice to register the vehicle in the company name should be made because of accounting and/or tax reasons, as the name does not affect the insurance pricing at all.

Actually, I take that back - there can be a difference in pricing. If you have 10 or more power units (not including your trailers), you can qualify for fleet rating. There are a few insurers who will fleet rate with as little as 5 power units so check with your agent who will know the rules for the insurers in your area. To continue, so if you had 8 commercial pickups and vans for your business, you might find that by re-registering your son's SUV and your wife's sedan into the company name and then adding it to your "company fleet", you will now hve the 10 units needed to qualify for fleet rating which can be cheaper than individual book-rated premiums because there is more flexibility in the discounts the underwriter can apply.

P.S. - Make sure your agent/broker knows about "Attached Equipment" - (someone mentioned) ladder racks; or attached toolboxes, or hoists, or plows, etc. Also, if you have a custom paint job with your company logo, you should list the extra cost of this under "Modifications". If these are not declared along with their value, then you won't be compensated for them if your truck is damaged/written off.

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